Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Human Services, General

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

50

Schools Ranked

$32,174

Avg. Earnings

13.5 yrs

Best Payback

11,943

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Valley City State University Valley City, ND · Public	$11,105	$38,289	13.5 yrs
2	George Washington University Washington, DC · Private	$21,174	$41,193	13.7 yrs
3	CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY · Public	$8,412	$37,363	14.2 yrs
4	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN · Public	$16,515	$39,153	15.9 yrs
5	Hilbert College Hamburg, NY · Private	$17,402	$37,568	27.1 yrs
6	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA · Public	$14,319	$36,533	37.4 yrs
7	Southeastern University Lakeland, FL · Private	$25,990	$37,208	47.1 yrs
8	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	$14,679	$36,222	48 yrs
9	University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT · Private	$25,156	$37,088	48.2 yrs
10	Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA · Public	$16,389	$36,166	56.2 yrs
11	Anderson University Anderson, SC · Private	$20,006	$35,810	98.8 yrs
12	Touro University New York, NY · Private	$24,578	$35,274	358.8 yrs
13	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private	$23,533	$29,685	N/A
14	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private	$18,389	$31,839	N/A
15	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV · Public	$11,929	$31,314	N/A
16	Mount Saint Mary College Newburgh, NY · Private	$25,229	$32,284	N/A
17	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	$17,260	$31,818	N/A
18	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	$17,235	$30,305	N/A
19	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	$16,819	$31,990	N/A
20	University of Oregon Eugene, OR · Public	$16,014	$30,554	N/A
21	Towson University Towson, MD · Public	$17,667	$31,585	N/A
22	University of Scranton Scranton, PA · Private	$29,844	$26,739	N/A
23	Doane University Crete, NE · Private	$21,950	$31,314	N/A
24	Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, PA · Private	$20,761	$34,526	N/A
25	Post University Waterbury, CT · For-Profit	$12,267	$32,284	N/A
26	Lincoln University Lincoln University, PA · Public	$20,526	$28,598	N/A
27	Shorter University Rome, GA · Private	$19,199	$31,133	N/A
28	Elmira College Elmira, NY · Private	$20,335	$30,409	N/A
29	Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY · Private	$17,281	$30,047	N/A
30	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	$13,778	$29,685	N/A
31	Fisher College Boston, MA · Private	$24,055	$34,793	N/A
32	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · For-Profit	$20,787	$31,676	N/A
33	Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA · Private	$22,508	$33,779	N/A
34	Chestnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA · Private	$21,458	$32,284	N/A
35	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	$19,365	$29,799	N/A
36	Southern Wesleyan University Central, SC · Private	$16,599	$30,771	N/A
37	Wingate University Wingate, NC · Private	$19,638	$28,055	N/A
38	Mercer University Macon, GA · Private	$21,388	$31,547	N/A
39	Gordon State College Barnesville, GA · Public	$11,424	$25,967	N/A
40	Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion Marion, IN · Private	$19,205	$34,348	N/A
41	Grand View University Des Moines, IA · Private	$20,148	$34,908	N/A
42	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	$9,669	$27,551	N/A
43	University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA · Public	$11,005	$29,413	N/A
44	Bluefield University Bluefield, VA · Private	$21,360	$33,993	N/A
45	Geneva College Beaver Falls, PA · Private	$17,522	$28,598	N/A
46	Missouri Baptist University Saint Louis, MO · Private	$21,842	$27,947	N/A
47	East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN · Public	$15,113	$28,417	N/A
48	Drury University Springfield, MO · Private	$17,162	$29,064	N/A
49	Judson University Elgin, IL · Private	$13,961	$30,554	N/A
50	Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL · Private	$18,084	$29,956	N/A

Top Earners in Human Services, General

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

Explore best value colleges across all majors and categories.

Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.